Chapter 37: Alone

“Yuelun, my disciple, your bravery brings your master great comfort.

However, the Overlord Sees the Mountain is not your foundation.

Forcing its activation has damaged your origin.

Your vital energy is depleted, your meridians are in chaos—if you do not recover in time, your martial path may be severed.

This is not what I wish to see.

The struggle for Arslan is not a battle of a single day.

Preserving yourself for the future is the true long-term strategy.

When this letter reaches you, the Royal Guards will also have arrived.

Return to the Night Dragon Nation with them at once and focus on your recovery.

This matter is not open to discussion.

I have prepared Dragonblood Herb and a thousand-year Ginseng King, awaiting your return.

Do not be willful.

Do not hesitate.

”

The voice faded, and the light of the Yujian dimmed along with it.

A few days later, the Green Dragon King’s letter arrived in Arslan.

Faluxiel brought the letter to Zhao Yuelun, but didn’t expect that the transmission Yujian would act like a microphone, transmitting the Green Dragon King’s words directly into their ears.

As expected of the Green Dragon King—he’d foreseen the possibility of trouble on Yuelun’s journey and even prepared supplements in advance… But in the end, this was a good thing.

Faluxiel thought this as she looked at Zhao Yuelun.

“I’m not leaving!”

Zhao Yuelun’s voice was hoarse, yet carried an undeniable stubbornness.

She stared at Faluxiel, anger and frustration burning in her eyes.

“I know my own injuries. A few days of rest is enough! Do you even know what time it is now? You’re alone in the capital, with traitors within and powerful enemies outside—how can I possibly…”

“Your body can no longer withstand any high-intensity combat.”

Faluxiel interrupted her.

“Not only that, even basic self-defense is now difficult for you.

If you stay here, you’re not a help to me—you’re a weakness.”

“Faluxiel!”

Zhao Yuelun almost screamed, unable to believe such cold words were coming from the friend she trusted most.

“I’m telling the truth.”

Faluxiel’s gaze did not waver.

She turned to the Royal Guard Captain, who still knelt on one knee.

“We will obey the order of His Highness the Green Dragon King. Please prepare to depart. We’ll rendezvous outside the North Gate in half an hour.”

“As you command.”

The Royal Guard Captain lowered his head in acceptance.

As he stood, he glanced deeply at Zhao Yuelun.

Then, the four figures faded like phantoms, vanishing silently from the terrace.

“You have no right to make decisions for me!”

Zhao Yuelun lost all control, trying to push Faluxiel away.

But the pain wracking her body made even raising her arm impossible.

In the end, she could only pound the bed weakly, her eyes reddening.

“You know full well… I’m not worried about myself! Those people in the capital… those eyes lurking in the shadows! You don’t even have a single guard by your side you can fully trust!”

“That’s exactly why you need to go back.”

Faluxiel sat on the edge of the bed, gently brushing aside the sweat-soaked hair from Zhao Yuelun’s forehead.

Her movements were light, and her voice softened, but the determination did not diminish.

“Yuelun, listen to me.

His Majesty the Green Dragon King is right—this is a long war.

I need a whole, unbroken Zhao Yuelun who can stand beside me in battle, not a friend lying in a sickbed, worrying for my sake.

Your health is the cornerstone of the Night Dragon Nation and Arslan’s alliance, and also my own greatest support.”

“Arslan’s doctors can heal your broken bones, but for restoring your vital energy and replenishing your spirit, His Highness the Green Dragon King’s methods are better.

So, go back and recover.

That’s an order—and a request from a friend.”

She rarely used the word “request”.

Zhao Yuelun looked into the icy blue depths of her eyes, seeing the exhaustion and worry she couldn’t conceal.

The anger and injustice boiling inside her felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head, extinguishing it almost entirely.

She knew that the pressure Faluxiel bore was far greater than she could imagine.

Every word she spoke was for the greater good, but also genuine care.

At last, Zhao Yuelun lowered her gaze, thick lashes hiding the storm of emotion in her eyes.

After a long pause, she forced out a single word through clenched teeth.

“…Fine.”

—

Half an hour later, a carriage sent by the Night Dragon Nation Embassy rolled quietly toward the North Gate, escorted by the Qinglong Royal Guards.

Faluxiel did not go to the gate to see them off.

She simply stood atop the tower, silently watching the carriage merge into the traffic, pass through the heavy city gates, and finally disappear on the distant horizon.

The noise of the capital seemed separated by an invisible barrier.

The evening wind stirred her pale blue hair, bringing a touch of chill.

Only when the last trace of the carriage was gone did she finally turn away, descending the spiral stairs back to her office.

Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the splendid yet decaying outline of Arslan’s royal city stretched.

Faluxiel didn’t turn on the lights, letting the last rays of sunset stretch her shadow across the cold floor.

She sat behind the large solid-wood desk, silent for a long time.

In the whole space, only her steady, slow breathing could be heard.

All this time, Zhao Yuelun, her friend from the east, had shouldered so much of the world’s pressure for her—through passion, honesty, and strength.

But now, she was gone.

Faluxiel realized clearly that she had returned to the starting point, alone at the center of the storm.

She wasn’t fearless—she had simply grown used to burying fear deep in her heart.

Finally, she moved.

She opened a drawer, took out a fresh sheet of parchment and a quill.

The tip hovered above the page, unmoving.

Traitor…

In her mind, she replayed the entire process of this exploration over and over.

The ambush had come with terrifying precision.

If it was merely a coincidence that the location of the Gate of Dolos overlapped with the Abyssal Lord’s resting place, there was no reason for the serpent, dormant for centuries, to awaken at the exact worst moment.

Combined with Zehril’s perfectly timed attack, it was clearly a carefully orchestrated trap.

If Zhao Yuelun hadn’t unleashed the Overlord Sees the Mountain in that desperate moment, breaking through the Abyssal Lord’s assault, all of them—herself included—would have become cold corpses in the Forbidden Marshes of the Demon Domain.

Before departure, only a select few had clearance to read the action plan submitted to the capital.

So…

If, as [Jingwei Sage] said, a player couldn’t be the traitor, then the traitor could only be one of these people.

Her pen finally touched the parchment, and at the top, she wrote the first name.